Sporting art

$1.8 Million Munnings Stars in Sporting Art Sale

A foxhunting portrait painted by British master Sir Alfred James Munnings in 1925 could fetch up to $1.8 million at Christie's Sporting & Wildlife Art sale in New York on Dec. 3. Titled F.H. Prince and the Pau Foxhounds, the painting (above), depicts American financier Frederick Henry Prince riding to hounds at Pau, his estate in the foothills of the Pyrénées. Prince had a stable of over sixty horses at the château, where King Henri IV of France was born in 1553. There are several other Munnings works in the sale as well.

Tags: Christies, Equestrian, Foxhunting, Horses, Sir Alfred Munnings, SirAlfredMunnings, Sporting art, SportingArt

The Classicist: On Equestrian Style

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Sports, Books, The Classicist

Followers of my sporadic style posts here have probably noticed certain threads running throughout; anglophilia, certainly, but also an affinity for all things equestrian-related: the polo matches staged by the likes of Veuve Clicquot and Mercedes-Benz; the Royal Ascot Races; riding boots by John Lobb of London; leathergoods by Swaine Adeney Brigg; and even classic sporting art. All these elements and more come together beautifully in Vicky Moon's new book Equestrian Style: Home Design, Couture, and Collections from the Eclectic to the Elegant, due out this week from Clarkson Potter.

It's a magnificent, much-needed extension of the horsey lifestyle portrayed in Hunt Country Style, the book I wrote about back in April. Moon divides her volume into different facts of the equestrian experience: In the Field, On the Farm, At the Track, In the Ring, On the Move, and Down the Road, focusing on all facets of horsiness and everything that goes along with it. The emphasis is on authenticity, not affectation; she barely mentions Ralph Lauren for instance except in the context of the actual polo team he fields.

Gallery: Equestrian Style

Racing tropy from Bonhams Sporting Sale.

Tags: Bonhams, equestrian, Equestrian Style, EquestrianStyle, foxhunting, Hermes, horseracing, horses, Hunt Country, HuntCountry, John Lobb, JohnLobb, polo, Ralph Lauren, RalphLauren, sporting art, SportingArt, Tattersalls, Vicky Moon, VickyMoon

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Sporting Art Auction Includes a Sartorial Tutorial

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art, Men's Style

With an estimate of only $137,000 - $196,000, Lowes Cato Dickinson's The Birdcage at Newmarket, painted c. 1885, is far from the most expensive work on offer at Christie's London's Sporting Art sale this Friday. From a sartorial historian's point of view, however, it might be the most precious. The monumental panorama, which measures 5 ft. x 9.5 ft., portrays the Rowley Mile Course at Newmarket following the 2,000 Guineas Stakes in 1885. The winner, Mr. Broderick Cloete's Paradox, with jockey Fred Archer up, can be seen in the center of the picture (detail above), while in the throng the keen observer can spot such luminaries of the turf as the Prince of Wales and the Earl of Rosebery, attired in the height of late-1800's equestrian chic. Ralph Lauren could base an entire collection on this one work of art -- and he probably has.

Gallery: Christie's Sporting Art Sale

John E. Ferneley, Sen. (1782-1860)  Portrait of Captain James Ogilvy Fairlie of Coodham.

John Frederick Herring, Sen. (1795-1865)  G.W. Gratwicke's bay colt The Merry Monarch.

John Frederick Herring, Sen. (1795-1865)  Major Yarburgh's brown colt, Charles XII.

Sir Alfred James Munnings, P.R.A., R.W.S. (1878-1959)  Portrait of Mr Thomas Osborn Springfield.

Tags: Christies, Equestrian, Horseracing, Jockeys, London, Prince of Wales, PrinceOfWales, Racehorses, Ralph Lauren, RalphLauren, Sartorial history, SartorialHistory, Sporting art, SportingArt

Million-Dollar Paintings Headline Sporting Art Auction

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art, Sports

On May 7, Sotheby's in London will stage an auction of important Sporting Art, headlined by two Sir Alfred Munnings equestrian paintings worth several million dollars. The top-priced piece of the sale is Munnings' "A Boy And His Pony - Portrait of Daffern Seal on Canary" painted in 1926. With an estimate of $3 - $5 million, it's one of the highest-priced equestrian portraits ever; however, it's worth noting that in 2004 Sotheby's sold a Munnings entitled "The Red Prince Mare," which had formerly belonged to Mr. and Mrs. John Hay Whitney, for $7.8 million, almost $2 million over estimate.

The second-highest lot in the May 7 auction is also a Munnings, "Portrait of Lady Barbara Lowther on Horseback" painted in 1919, with an estimate of $1.6 - $2.4 million. However, we happen to prefer the work of earlier artists such as Ben Marshall and John Frederick Herring, Sr., whose "The Match Between Priam and Augustus at Newmarket," painted in 1831 and pictured above, is estimated at $1 - $1.4 million -- a relative bargain.

Gallery: Sporting Art Auction